Hong Kong Visas Made Easy

Why Do Hong Kong Technology Startups Mostly Struggle To Win Investment Visa Approvals For Their Founders?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in 60 Second Snapshot, Employment Visas, Investment Visas / No responses

I’m often asked how feasible business investment visas are for foreign nationals seeking to establish a new technology start up here.

Bootstrappping and running Lean can be a double edged sword as a foreign national starting up in Hong Kong…

The actual extent of the challenge is, in fact, no more onerous than it has always been – namely the foreign entrepreneur needs to be able to show that he or she can make a substantial contribution to the economy of Hong Kong in order to have a business investment visa application approved.

To this end, the normal three legged business investment visa approvability test must be satisfied, namely that the business must be homed in premises suitable for the business, there must be a clear pathway to the creation of local employment opportunities and the business must be properly resourced, meaning sufficient cash and other business-critical resources present so that the Immigration Department can be satisfied that the business will go on to become a solidly entrenched commercial enterprise.

But here’s the problem with most technology start ups.

Unless very well funded from the outset, most of them are boot strapped, most of them are run according to the Lean philosophy – and most of them fail, and the Immigration Department know this.

Where the present approvability criteria demand a ‘substantial contribution to the economy of Hong Kong’ the vast majority of technology start ups are simply unable to pass the test – making Hong Kong a very hard place indeed for foreign blood to come in and help Hong Kong transition into a fully fledged connection economy.

There are ways to improve your chances of success, though, requiring a realignment of your plans and an increase in available capital to fund your ambitions.

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The Quality Migrant Admission Scheme – A Practical Guide

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Musing, Special Programmes / No responses

In this section of the talk, I talk about the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme (QMAS) – this much maligned programme that is ‘on the books’ so we continue to provide coverage of it (of course!)

On March 21, 2014 I gave a presentation at the Chinese Club entitled Business Immigration to Hong Kong – A Practical Guide. The content is still relevant today and can be summarised as follows:

The purpose of the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme is to attract highly skilled or talented individuals to settle in Hong Kong, with the aim of enhancing Hong Kong’s economic competitiveness. Unlike other visa schemes, successful applicants are not required to have secured a job offer in Hong Kong prior to their arrival. However, all applicants must meet a set of prerequisites before they can be awarded points under one of the two points-based tests: the General Points Test and the Achievement-based Points Test. These tests are used to assess applicants’ eligibility and allocate quotas accordingly.

To apply for the Scheme, the applicant must:

– Be at least 18 years old

– Prove financial capability to support themselves and any dependents during their stay without public assistance

– Have no criminal or immigration records

– Be proficient in Chinese or English

– Have a good education background, preferably with a university degree or equivalent qualifications

If the applicant fails to provide satisfactory documents to prove that they meet these requirements, their application will be refused immediately.

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LIFTING THE LID: Leaving Your Hong Kong Visa Extension To The Very Last Minute

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Family Visas, Investment Visas, Musing, Special Programmes / No responses

In this short piece, I discuss the impact on our practice when clients leave their Hong Kong visa extension applications to the very last minute!

In this occasional series of commentary, I provide a peek inside our professional practice and offer a glimpse of what it’s like to be part of the Hong Kong Visa Centre team.

Leaving your Hong Kong visa extension application to the very last minute can be an absolute nightmare because there is a quota that the Immigration Department has each day that is allocated to people seeking to extend their visas and, of course, a lot of people leave it to the very last minute and it can be that the visa is going to expire within a day or two, and it can mean as queuing up at six o’clock in the morning to get access to the quota for the day. However, humans are humans, and things get left to the last minute very often; it’s not an ideal situation, therefore we try to encourage clients not to do that, but we service them and try and give them the best possible outcome that’s available, all things considered.

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How Does Pre-Existing Business Ownership Impact On A Hong Kong Prolonged Visitor Visa Application?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Family Visas, Visitor Visas, Your Question Answered / 4 responses

Will what has been done before impact on a Hong Kong Prolonged Visitor Visa out of policy application now?

QUESTION

I have a general question regarding conditions of stay for a Hong Kong prolonged visitor visa.

On the Hong Kong Immigration website it says:

“Subject to the following conditions of stay:

(a) he shall not take any employment, whether paid or unpaid:

(b) he shall not establish or join in any business; and

(c) he shall not become a student at a school, university or other education institution. “

Does being owner of a business fall into one of these categories ? 

Considering that  the company was incorporated in Hong Kong by other persons a few years ago, and bought before applying for such visa ?

ANSWER

Really good question, and I’m grateful for you having raised it in the way that you have.

Given that your acquisition of this business interest occurred at a time when you were not in breach of your conditions of stay, assuming that, at all times, this business was acquired when you were not in Hong Kong, and therefore the issue of your immigration status at the time that you acquired the business doesn’t come into play.

The principal issue at play in this regard, then, is what will the Immigration Department make of the fact that you have an interest in the business at the point of you being granted a prolonged visitor visa? Because if you’re involved in the business operationally and intend to be involved in the business operationally while you’re in possession of a prolonged visitor visa, that will certainly be a breach of your conditions of stay upon the grant of a prolonged visitor visa, assuming, of course, that the Immigration Department give you one because it is an out of policy act of discretion to grant such a visa in the first place.

So, effectively, assuming that you’re going to disclose what your interests are, what your financial circumstances are as part of your prolonged visa application, then your interest in this business in Hong Kong will be disclosed to the Immigration Department and you’ll have to make certain representations in relation to it.

The Immigration Department will be concerned that if you’re going to play an operational role in the business, as I say, as a prolonged visitor, you’ll be breaching your conditions of stay. So you’ll need to tread very carefully in how you articulate your argument to the Immigration Department, so that they can be satisfied that if they do effect a positive act of discretion in your favour and they do grant you a prolonged visitor visa, they have no concerns about you breaching those conditions by then, immediately, in a sense, walking across town and then taking care of the business, as it were, a business, in this instance, that you acquired before your question of immigration status ever came into play.

So I don’t think you’ve got any issues at all to be concerned about in respect to how you acquired your business interest, prior to making this application for a prolonged visa visa. But it’s certainly in your best interest to disclose the fact of your interest in that business to the Immigration Department so that they can then take it into consideration when determining if they should make that out of policy determination to grant you the prolonged visitor visa that you’re looking for.

Okay. I hope you found this useful.

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PODCAST ANSWER

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Hong Kong Unconditional Stay – A Practical Guide (Business Immigration To Hong Kong)

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Long Stay & PR, Musing, Resource / No responses

In this post, I talk about  the Hong Kong unconditional stay and when it might be useful to you.

Hong Kong unconditional stay plays a lesser yet still important role in immigration status to acquire in the HKSAR today…

On March 21, 2014 I gave a presentation at the Chinese Club entitled Business Immigration to Hong Kong – A Practical Guide. The information stays relevant today.

The unconditional stay covers the instances where a long-stay foreign national resident is in a position to make an application for the Right of Abode but they genuinely cannot put their hand on their heart and say that they’ve taken Hong Kong as their only place of Permanent Residence and, in that instance, because of the fact that one of the application forms the ROP146 calls for that declaration, if you can’t make that declaration you can’t get the Right of Abode; however, what you can do instead of getting the Right of Abode is making an application for unconditional stay and essentially it’s the same test for approval – seven years continuous ordinary residence in Hong Kong, and if you can satisfy that test but you can’t make the Declaration then you can have your stays adjusted to unconditional stay.

The unconditional stay relieves you of all the limits to your existing residence in Hong Kong so there’s no imposition on the limit of stay and what you can do whilst you hold unconditional stay, so this is a really useful immigration status.

Before a case that was settled at the end of the 90s, the unconditional stay application was a pre-requisite for obtaining the Right of Abode, but the Supreme Court said this is not constitutional because you’re allowing the director of immigration the ability to roadblock somebody’s potential to want to get the Right of Abode; so now there’s no requirement to get unconditional stay first, you can go directly to the Right of Abode the test for approval is exactly the same as for the unconditional stay.

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How To Apply For A Hong Kong Investment Visa Without Paying For Professional Help – 4 – Investment Visa For Mainland Chinese Applicants

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Investment Visas, Musing / No responses

I have given this talk around town for the last couple of years now and so pleased to finally add it to our coverage of the Hong Kong investment visa, specifically discussing the Hong Kong investment visa for Mainland Chinese applicants.

The talk was graciously hosted at WYND Co-working Space, ran by a group of great people who I have a lot of time for.

The Complete Talk in Logical Segments

1 – Introduction

2 – Policy

3 – Visa Problem?

4 – Mainlanders

5 – Visitors

6 – Work Visa?

7 – Investment Visa?

8 – Approvability Test

9 – Cash Needed

10 – Catch 22

11 – Loved Ones

12 – Visa Refused?

13 – Trying Again

14 – D-I-Y

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QOTW: Can I Get A Hong Kong Work Visa With No Degree?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Musing / No responses

An old chestnut this question which comes up time and time again about getting a Hong Kong work visa with no degree – albeit this time in the context of a technical apprenticeship undertaken straight out of senior high school.

QUESTION  OF  THE  WEEK

I moved to Hong Kong from France one month ago.

I came here together with my boyfriend who has started to work here (we are not married, so no dependant visa!!).

In France I was working for Company A as a customer service agent. I actually also got a job at Company A here in Hong Kong before I arrived here.

But I don’t have a university degree. I did my A-Levels in France followed by a 2,5 year apprenticeship in my niche and after that I worked there for about 2 years.

What are my chances to get the working visa, without holding a University degree?

ANSWER

The General Employment Policy in Hong Kong calls for applicants for employment visas to have a university degree; however, what happens if you don’t have a university degree but have technical qualifications instead? Could an applicant who possesses special skills, knowledge, or experience of value to and not readily available in Hong Kong, obtain an employment visa?

Generally, an employment visa applicant is expected to have a university degree and at least two years post-graduation working experience in a managerial or supervisory capacity; however, what happens in real life is that not everybody goes to university and there are plenty of people in Hong Kong who do have working visas but they never went to university themselves; therefore, how did they get their visas?

Essentially, the Immigration Department have a certain amount of flexibility and in general terms, if you don’t have a university degree but you have technical qualifications the immigration department will expect you to have at least five years post-qualification working experience in the managerial or supervisory capacity, and if you don’t have technical qualifications you’re expected to have at least 10 years of working experience in a managerial or supervisory capacity; so, in this instance it seems to me that you haven’t yet quite met the five years post-qualification working experience in the managerial or supervisory capacity that you need and therefore I suspect you might find it difficult to persuade the Immigration Department that you should be granted an employment visa in your circumstances; and, of course, aligned with all of this, is this overarching question – does the work that’s being offered to you, can actually be undertaken by a local person, and that’s an objective test and the immigration department will make the determination based on all of the evidence that they’ve got bundled up inside the application.

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